Journal of neurosurgery. Spine
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OBJECTIVE Little is known about the relationship between sagittal spinal alignment in patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSS) and objective findings such as spinopelvic parameters, lumbar back muscle degeneration, and clinical data. The purpose of this study was to identify the preoperative clinical and radiological factors that predict improvement in sagittal spinal alignment after decompressive surgery in patients with LSS. METHODS The records of 61 patients with LSS who underwent microendoscopic laminotomy and had pre- and postoperative clinical data collected were retrospectively reviewed. ⋯ The percentage of fat infiltration of the PVM at L4-5 was significantly greater in patients with preoperative SVA ≥ 40 mm than in those patients with SVA < 40 mm. CONCLUSIONS Preoperative PI -LL and symptom duration were independently associated with SVA improvement in LSS patients with forward-bending posture. PVM degeneration at the lower lumbar level was significantly greater among patients with preoperative SVA ≥ 40 mm than in patients with SVA < 40 mm.
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Multicenter Study
Rate of perioperative neurological complications after surgery for cervical spinal cord stimulation.
OBJECTIVE Cervical spinal cord stimulation (cSCS) is used to treat pain of the cervical region and upper extremities. Case reports and small series have shown a relatively low risk of complication after cSCS, with only a single reported case of perioperative spinal cord injury in the literature. Catastrophic cSCS-associated spinal cord injury remains a concern as a result of underreporting. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS In the largest series of cSCS, the risk of spinal cord injury was higher than previously reported (0.5%). Nonetheless, this procedure remains relatively safe, and physicians may use these data to corroborate the safety of cSCS in an appropriately selected patient population. This may become a key treatment option in an increasingly opioid-dependent, aging population.
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Multicenter Study
Risk of adjacent-segment disease requiring surgery after short lumbar fusion: results of the French Spine Surgery Society Series.
OBJECTIVE Adjacent-segment disease (ASD) is an increasingly problematic complication following lumbar fusion surgery. The purpose of the current study was to determine the risk of ASD requiring surgical treatment after short lumbar or lumbosacral fusion. Primary spinal disease and surgical factors associated with an increased risk of revision were also investigated. ⋯ The highest risk was observed for degenerative spondylolisthesis. CONCLUSIONS ASD requiring revision surgery was predicted in 5.6% of patients 7 years after index short lumbar spinal fusion in the French Spine Surgery Society retrospective series. An increased risk of ASD requiring revision surgery associated with initial spinal disease showed the significance of the influence of natural degenerative history on adjacent-segment pathology.
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OBJECTIVE Penetrating gunshot wounds (GSWs) to the spinal column are stable injuries and do not require spinal orthoses or bracing postinjury. Nonetheless, a high number of GSW-related spinal cord injury (SCI) patients are referred with a brace to national rehabilitation centers. Unnecessary bracing may encumber rehabilitation, create skin breakdown or pressure ulcers, and add excessive costs. ⋯ No patients deteriorated neurologically, whether or not they were initially braced. The unnecessary use of spinal orthoses increases costs and patient morbidity. Reeducation and dissemination of this information is warranted.